Chapter 1366: Blood‑Bathing Zhongzhou!

And in Lin Feng's alchemy, time sped by.

After that, three nine‑grade Golden Core Pills were consecutively born within the pitch‑black Tian Mu.

However, while the former was focused on refining the pills he needed, the outside world was not calm at this moment.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At this very moment, the space across the Zhongzhou Continent trembled violently all of a sudden.

And this abrupt scene was instantly noticed by others.

The massive disturbance caused by Zhongzhou's shaking was immediately sensed by the peoples of the three great beast races!

Immediately thereafter, the three sides hurried to inform the strong members of their own clans.

Accompanying the tremor, a black ring of light suddenly appeared high in the sky.

And the moment the ring emerged, it spread outward at a staggering speed.

In the blink of an eye, it enveloped the entire Zhongzhou.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the ring's appearance, the heaven‑and‑earth energy of the whole Zhongzhou boiled instantly like heated water.

Facing the current situation, the many strong ones who came out to investigate were all pale with shock.

Then they quickly lifted their heads to look at the black ring in the sky.

Under the gaze of countless Zhongzhou inhabitants, the black light in the sky began to writhe across the horizon.

Immediately, that light, amid the terrified gazes below, suddenly transformed into a luminous cauldron!

The enormity of the luminous cauldron was almost indescribable.

Because once it appeared, the entire Zhongzhou was instantly encompassed within that cauldron!

"Clan leader, what the hell is this thing?"

Staring at the sky anomaly, the Three Heavenly Demon Phoenixes that had flown out from the Phoenix Realm to investigate changed expression slightly, then asked Huang Tian ahead.

Even with their current strength, they too sensed an extremely dangerous aura within the endless light!

Hearing that, Huang Tian gave a wry smile, shook his head, and said, "I don't know either, but I can sense that this disturbance may be related to the Soul Heaven Emperor. I sensed his aura on that luminous cauldron, but fortunately we happen to be on the southern continent now; otherwise being drawn in would have been dangerous."

In the meantime, the former was at a loss for what to do.

But soon, he turned his head, looked toward the newly arrived members of the Nine‑Nether Earth Dark Python Tribe, and said gravely, "Clan Leader Yao Ming, do you know what this thing is?"

"I haven't seen this thing before, and I don't know what the Soul Heaven Emperor intends to do."

At that point, Yao Ming suddenly changed tack and continued, "But considering that the Soul Heaven Emperor has already successfully obtained an Imperial‑grade embryonic pill, his current move is likely tied to his promotion to Dou Emperor."

Upon hearing this, the opposing Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan and the strong members of the Nine‑Nether Earth Dark Python Tribe behind him were momentarily stunned, then lowered their heads with grim expressions.

After all, from all these signs, Yao Ming's words indeed make great sense.

"From this emperor's perspective, the Soul Heaven Emperor, after a period of recuperation and refinement, has begun to merge with the Imperial‑grade embryonic pill. Judging from the current situation, he intends to use Zhongzhou as a cauldron, living beings as material, heaven‑and‑earth as fire, and flesh as the pill to forge a perfect Imperial‑grade pill!"

While everyone was pondering with solemn faces, a sudden deep voice echoed around each person.

Confronted by the sudden voice, Huang Tian, Yao Ming, and their party were startled, then quickly turned to look.

Immediately after, they let out a huge sigh of relief.

It turned out that Zhu Kun had, at some point, arrived behind them.

At this moment, after a period of recuperation, his injuries had largely healed.

Thus now, he once again assumed the bearing of a Nine‑Star Peak Dou Saint.

"Sss!"

However, when the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan and the Nine‑Nether Earth Dark Python Tribe heard Zhu Kun's words, they couldn't help but gasp sharply, their eyes filled with intense shock.

But soon, Huang Tian frowned and said, "Crafting an Imperial‑grade pill—though I admit the Soul Heaven Emperor is extremely powerful, arguably unbeatable on the Dou Qi continent—still, he is not an alchemist. Looking across the continent, no alchemist possesses such ability; how could a non‑alchemist possibly achieve it?"

"Hmm"

Upon hearing that, Yao Ming pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "In my view, not necessarily. We've all seen the Imperial‑grade embryonic pill before; it's already a prototype pill. From my understanding of alchemy, once the embryonic pill takes shape, the hardest step of alchemy is already passed. In other words, the most difficult step of forging an Imperial‑grade embryonic pill was completed ten thousand years ago by the ancient Emperor Tuo She."

"What the Soul Heaven Emperor now needs to do is merely complete the final refinement step, allowing the Imperial‑grade embryonic pill to absorb sufficient energy and then be purified into a true Imperial‑grade pill. I recall the opponent's soul power is also at the Imperial realm. If he had previously studied some alchemical knowledge and possessed a certain secret technique, helping the embryonic pill take that last step to become a true Imperial‑grade pill wouldn't be impossible!"

Speaking further, Yao Ming couldn't help licking his lips, his eyes blazing.

A true Imperial‑grade pill—a divine pill of this caliber.

Its history on the Dou Qi continent predates even that of the Dou Emperor's strongest.

They never expected that their generation would actually witness its emergence!

When these words were spoken, greed and fervor surged in the eyes of the surrounding strong ones as well.

But soon, the phoenix among the Three Heavenly Demon Phoenixes reacted.

His brows furrowed, and in a hurried tone he said, "Then, if the Soul Heaven Emperor succeeds in forging a true Imperial‑grade pill, the chance of advancing to Dou Emperor would skyrocket!"

"You are right; we indeed underestimated the Soul Heaven Emperor's ambition. The Imperial‑grade embryonic pill is indeed powerful, but merely taking it offers little chance of promotion to Dou Emperor—this emperor does not view it favorably. Yet if the Soul Heaven Emperor truly perfects that embryonic pill and crafts a true Imperial‑grade pill, that probability would be amplified without limit!"

"One could even say that as long as he obtains the complete Imperial‑grade pill, the Soul Heaven Emperor, unless extraordinarily unlucky, will be able to break the barrier that has held him back for millennia and successfully ascend to the Dou Emperor realm."

At this point, Zhu Kun's complexion turned extremely grim.

He had calculated everything, yet never anticipated that the Soul Heaven Emperor possessed such a secret technique!

After all, this ultra‑esoteric method is something he has never owned, even in his own hands!

Thinking of the current situation, Zhu Kun couldn't help muttering internally, "Damn, the Soul clan was only a top family among the second‑tier, so where did all that foundation come from? This emperor feels the Soul Heaven Emperor has everything in his hand, as if he were a conglomerate of countless ancient forces!"

Because of his previous reckless actions, he has been forced to stay obediently at the Dan Tower's Sanmei for treatment all this time.

Thus Zhu Kun is still unaware of the Soul clan's ability to devour spirits and their eradication of countless Dou Emperor families over the millennia.

Meanwhile, as the few conversed, the Zhongzhou Continent fell into chaos at this very moment.

Because the massive luminous cauldron formed in the sky and its faint, terrifying ripples instantly unsettled many strong ones.

Facing this situation, many continent strong ones wished to shatter the giant cauldron and escape.

But unfortunately, no matter how hard they try, they cannot shift that Light Cauldron even a fraction!

And this situation undoubtedly makes the trapped people feel even more panicked and terrified.

Boom!

Shortly after the Light Cauldron appeared, a black flash suddenly emerged from the distant sky.

Immediately thereafter, under countless gazes, the flash burst forth, shooting a sky‑covering black beam.

In an instant, these dense beams formed a spider‑web‑like pattern.

In the sky, they created an extremely massive formation.

And this great formation, as vast as the Light Cauldron, directly enveloped the entire Zhongzhou Continent!

Moreover, as soon as the formation appeared, a figure with flowing long hair also emerged at its center.

Upon a close look, the person was the Soul Emperor, who had vanished after the battle at Gu Di Dong Fu!

And the moment he appeared, he couldn't help but roar to the heavens, "All these years of painstaking cultivation have reached their end; it's finally time for the last step, I will step forward!"

As soon as the words fell, within the massive formation covering Zhongzhou, dense pillars of light suddenly erupted.

At the same time, these light pillars seemed alive, precisely piercing the ground across Zhongzhou.

Rumble!

When the pillars struck the ground, in an instant the whole Zhongzhou violently trembled.

Boom!

The next moment, the ground beneath a popular city in Zhongzhou began to quake violently.

Simultaneously, huge cracks spread like spider webs from the city without warning.

In an instant, many unprepared people fell, disappearing into the bottomless fissures.

Those whose strength had reached Dou King or higher immediately rose into the air, their faces horrified as they watched.

Boom!

But before they could react, the black light pillars suddenly burst upward from below.

In the blink of an eye, the entire city was engulfed by those pillars!

Under the impact of the black pillars, everyone in the city—

Their bodies suddenly exploded, turning into a sky of blood mist and shattered flesh.

Immediately after, streams of blood and chunks of flesh rose slowly.

Finally, these streams turned into pure energy that shot toward the heavens, eventually merging into the massive formation that shrouded the entire Zhongzhou!

Soon after, as those streams vanished, the black light also completely dissipated.

When everything calmed, only piles of broken limbs and flesh remained on the ground, along with a nauseatingly thick scent of blood.

At the same time, the same situation unfolded in many other places across Zhongzhou.

The dense blood aura now almost filled the entire sky over Zhongzhou.

Even the air itself was tainted with a nauseatingly thick scent of blood.

These changes undoubtedly made the remaining people on Zhongzhou even more terrified and panicked at this moment.

But unfortunately, those who cannot break the formation, no matter how scared they are,

have no way except to stay put and await death.

"This formation looks similar to the one Lin Feng used during the great battle at Gu Di Dong Fu,"

and when the cataclysm struck Zhongzhou, Huang Tian, drawn by the commotion and standing outside the formation, furrowed his brows and asked in confusion.

"This is the Soul‑Devouring Absolute Formation, a poisonous grand array invented by a Dou Emperor of the Swallowing Spirit clan in ancient times. It is of the same type as the Blood‑Thirsty Spirit‑Transforming Formation Lin Feng used, but this one is far stronger,"

At this point, Zhu Kun furrowed his brows, his tone heavy, and said, "The effect of this formation is to turn every living being within its scope into blood foam, then forcibly extract energy from that blood for one's own use!"

"However, because this formation is extremely poisonous and ruthless, if I recall correctly, after the Dou Emperor vanished, the Swallowing Spirit clan, under pressure from the continent's strongmen, destroyed all records of this formation. Yet unexpectedly, the Soul Emperor still managed to wield it,"

His words were also filled with doubt.

Thousands of years ago, when that incident occurred, he too had been invited by others.

Not wanting to offend the peak strongmen and also curious about the Swallowing Spirit clan's bottom line, he participated in the original operation.

He remembers clearly that at that time the Swallowing Spirit clan was indeed the foremost among all races.

But faced with the massive number of top‑tier strongmen, they still dared not resist.

In the end, after a forced surrender, they had to openly destroy all the records in front of everyone!

"Soul‑Devouring Absolute Formation?"

After Zhu Kun's explanation, the two other great beast‑race champions' faces turned extremely grim.

In that instant, everyone around was chilled by the Soul Emperor's ruthless method, breaking out in cold sweat.

Immediately, Huang Tian retorted angrily, "Damn the Swallowing Spirit clan, why create such a formation for no reason? Moreover, I say the Soul Emperor—how can he be so confident in gathering enough energy to refine that Imperial‑grade embryonic pill? It seems he had prepared this formation across the whole Zhongzhou Continent in advance, intending to use living beings as material to forge that Imperial‑grade embryonic pill,"

"But sacrificing an entire continent's life essence also owes thanks to that Soul Emperor for daring to do it!" (End of chapter)